An Ordinary Princess
by Caillean
Summary: AU: What if Emma was born a princess, but a different curse separated her from her family? One that meant no one ever left the Enchanted Forest. One that made her, well, quite ordinary.
1. Once Upon a Time

_**A/N: This is a story I've been tossing about in my mind for some time now, with the winter hiatus upon us I thought I'd take a shot at it. I've always felt Emma has a touch of the "Ugly Duckling" story about her, and growing up "The Ordinary Princess" was one of my favorite books. This takes ideas from both, telling the story of Emma, if she were to grow up within the Enchanted Forest, if not with her parents due to a slightly different curse. I guess I just really wanted to tell a fairy tale. I do hope you enjoy….**_

**An Ordinary Princess**

**By Caillean**

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><p>"<em>Tell me a story."<em>

"_It's well past your bedtime, my dear."_

"_Please?" A single word spoken with great power behind it, as only a young child can._

"_Well, perhaps just one. Settle in then. Are you comfortable? Good. Once Upon a Time, there lived a king and queen, who were kind and good. They loved each other very much, and one day, they had a daughter…."_

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><p><strong>Prologue: Once Upon a Time<strong>

All of the Enchanted Forest celebrated the birth of Princess Emma, but none found more joy in her arrival than her parents the King and Queen. For years, Snow White had fought alongside her husband to take back the kingdom that was rightfully theirs from the Evil Queen, Regina. Now that battle had been won, Regina banished, and Snow and David turned an eye to the future.

"She's so beautiful." Snow smiled down into her infant daughter's wide green eyes.

David leaned across to rest a hand lightly on Emma's forehead. She cooed lightly as he smiled. He looked up again at his wife, a gown of silver and white to match their daughter's coronation robes. "You are the fairest of them all." He kissed her lightly. Together, they walked down a grand palace hallway until they arrived at an ornate set of doors. "Are you ready?"

"Yes. It's time for her to meet her people." This was what they had fought so very hard for: this promising future for their family.

With a nod from their Queen, two guards hauled open the doors to the grand ballroom. Visiting royalty and those closest to the royal family gathered inside, ready to welcome the new heir to the throne.

"Their majesties, Queen Snow and King David. Her royal highness, Princess Emma."

As one, they entered the room to the sound of cheers.

Snow watched the guests dancing about the ballroom, smiles on their faces to be present at such a joyous occasion. It seemed almost impossible to believe that just two short years ago, they had defeated her Stepmother and taken back the throne. It had been a struggle, and even now Snow feared that they had not heard the last of Regina.

The hours seemed to fly by until the final event of the day was announced, the Presentation of the Blessings.

She turned and looked over at her husband sitting next to her, a rueful smile on his face. David hadn't wanted to include this particular ceremony, stating that their daughter had all the blessings she could possibly need, with the love of her two parents… and weren't fairy blessings quite outdated anyway? Snow had insisted: any blessing given during the ceremony could never be taken away; the magic of the land demanded it. What harm could it possibly do to ensure their daughter had the best possible life? And so here they were, five fairies and their Queen, the Blue Fairy herself.

The gifts they bestowed were always the same: Wisdom, Courage, Kindness, Love, Grace, and Joy. Each fairy walked over up to where Snow held her daughter gently and spoke the words to bind each gift to her. Occasionally, the fairy dust would cause Emma to sneeze, such an adorable little sound.

As the Blue Fairy walked over to bestow the last of those gifts to the little princess a cry came from the back of the great room.

King David unsheathed his sword and stood in front of his wife and daughter, straining to see who was making their way through the crowd of people. He heard his wife gasp behind him just as he made out who caused the revelers to part in front of him.

"Rumplestiltskin. You are not welcome here."

The sorcerer laughed in a high pitch as he made his way to the dais. "Oh, I think I will be, when you hear what I've to say. What a pretty little princess. Shame she'll not live to enjoy it."

The Blue Fairy brandished her wand. "You'll not hurt the princess."

He stepped back, a mockingly-hurt expression on his face. "Oh, not me, dearie. Quite the opposite. See, while you and your flitting flock were busy preparing the princesses _gifts_, someone else was conjuring up an even bigger present." He gestured to a window. "See for yourself."

They all turned and looked out the tall palace windows. There, just over the western mountains, rose a great cloud of purple smoke. Snow felt her heart drop into her stomach. How could they have been so blind? Of course Regina would pick a time of great celebration to launch her wickedness once more against them.

"A curse." Snow held her baby a bit closer who began to cry, sensing her mother's distress. Turning to the sorcerer her voice dropped to a dangerous level. "What will it do? What is she planning, Dark One."

"See that's the problem," he held up his hands "I don't know. I can imagine if the Evil Queen cast it, and I do know that this is her magic, it can't be a promising omen for such a _Charming_ family." He reached out to touch the baby, but Snow pulled back. He frowned.

"Unfortunately, as I was _somewhat_ instrumental in Regina's demise, I must assume it's not meant to go well for me, either. So, I've come to bestow the little princess with a gift of my own. How many of the blessings have been granted?", he asked the Blue Fairy.

"Only Five. I was about to give her the last."

"Ah, good. I was just in time then." He waved a hand at Blue. "Can't go wasting perfectly good blessings on, what? Beauty? Happiness?" He laughed. "Oh no, none of those will do for you, young lady."

A gleam in his eye, Rumplestiltskin waved his hands in the air before him, conjuring a rusty cloud of sparkling dust. "For the final blessing, I grant the princess the gift of magic: light as her parent's true love, dark as night, and stronger than any curse. With that, I grant her the ability to save a kingdom. On her eighteenth birthday will she inherit this gift, and the choice of how to shape such a power. " With a wicked smile he blew the cloud over the baby who sneezed, blinked, and suddenly stopped crying.

"What have you done to our daughter?" David reached out to grab the sorcerer's arm, but he wasn't fast enough. With a grand wave of his hand, Rumplestiltskin froze everyone in the room in place. And while she could only look on in horror, he took the child out of her mother's arms.

"Now, I have one more gift to bestow on you, little princess." He walked her around the ballroom, stopping in front of the grand windows. "The Evil Queen will be searching for you, but she mustn't know who you are. So, I give you your best chance to survive and escape her notice."

He laughed, the sound echoing off the walls of the now silent room.

"You, my dear, shall be ordinary."

And with that, both he and the child simply disappeared.


	2. An Unexpected Gift

_A/N: Well, here we go! I truly hope you enjoy this story, as I've been having so much fun writing it. The following chapters will be fairly short, so I've decided to post them more frequently than the later chapters of the tale. Please, do let me know what you think. _

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><p>An Ordinary Princess<p>

by Caillean

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><p><strong>Chapter One: An Unexpected Gift<strong>

Doran and Margaret sat at a sturdy kitchen table in their cottage, gazing out the window at the child running amongst the farm's geese and chickens. Her laughter, light and free, carried across the yard and through the open kitchen windows. It still seemed a dream to them how years ago a strange old woman had knocked on their door and settled a large basket down in front of them. How, when they kneeled down and looked beneath the soft white knitted blanket, there lay a perfect little baby girl.

How, when they looked up once more in shock, the old woman had vanished into the air, leaving them nothing but questions. Who was this little child that they had prayed for, yet never been blessed with over twenty years of marriage?

They had their suspicions of course. The bright blonde hair, the green eyes. The day that she had arrived at their farm. Just two days later they heard of the tragedy at the castle. Within another week the new Queen's guards rode into the town to announce her ascension to the throne.

Finally, the baby's name, stitched carefully into the edge in fine silk threads. Emma. The same name as the princess whose coronation was interrupted by a wicked curse cast by the Evil Queen. A curse that turned all within its walls to stone. There were those that said the princess was among them, placed in a stone basinet. There were also those that whispered the Queen had failed, and still searched for the child to this day, vowing she too would join those in her terrible gallery of statues.

Within a few months the couple noticed small changes to baby Emma. Her eyes, first a bright and clear green, darkened into a kind of hazel brown. Her hair, once the color of spun gold, dulled to resemble more the hay the cattle fed on in the winter. Had they not cared for her every day, Doran and Margaret would have thought her to be a completely different child, so unrecognizable was the little girl now from the radiant baby that was brought to them.

"It's her birthday tomorrow." Margaret stirred a bit of honey into her tea. "Seven years now. She's growing so quickly."

"Aye, that she is. We'd do well to send her to the village school, she shouldn't lack in any education."

"She's a farmer's daughter, Doran. She doesn't have need of an education save caring for the livestock, cooking, and keeping house."

"A bright young girl such as herself won't want to stay a farmer's daughter forever."

Margaret snorted. "A farmer's daughter is what she is, and what she will be for many years to come. It's been years. Anyone who may have planned to come and collect her is long gone… or unable to make the journey. Even if…" her voice trailed off as she looked back out at the child, "even if she is truly who we suspect, no one would recognize her now. We both know it's safest for her if things stay the way they are. What would we even tell her? That she could possibly be a princess? It's no use filling her head with stories that may not be true."

He was saved from replying by the child crashing into the room, carrying a wooden box almost too big for her to hold.

"Mamma, Papa, look!"

"Watch where you place your feet, child. You've nearly trampled all over my clean linens. What is it that you have there? Hand it over." Margaret patted the table, and the little girl pushed the box up onto the thick, scarred wood. "Where did you find this, Emma?"

"I fell on it."

Doran looked out the window again. "Where?"

She pointed out the door. "There, on the front steps. Is it a present?"

"Likely it's not for you, lass." His eyes met his wife's as he dragged the box across the table to where he sat, unease settling over him. The wood had a highly polished sheen, far nicer than anything to be found locally, even with the port of Redmead not even a league away.

"What is it?" Her eyes were large as she tried to pull herself up over the table's ledge.

He took a deep breath, and opened the lid of the box. "It's…. well my dear, it looks as if it's nothing more than some old books." He reached in and picked up one, noticing at once the thickness of the leather and the gold stitching along the spine. "The Histories of the Enchanted Forest. Not much of a present, I'm afraid."

Emma scrunched up her face, thinking. "Can I have it anyway, papa?"

Margaret shook her head." You can't read, my child. I doubt there are many pictures in such a dusty old book."

"I can learn."

Margaret took another sip of her tea and then slowly placed it down on the table. "Yes, child. I suppose you can. Your father can take you down to the village tomorrow to meet with the schoolmaster, if you'd like."

Emma let out a whoop, jumping up and hugging her mother, then her father. "Thank you thank you thank you!"

Doran laughed. "Now off you go, I seem to recall you were meant to bring us eggs from the coop so your mother can make you a special birthday treat." He watched as she left the house once more, humming to herself as she skipped across the yard.

Husband and wife regarded each other for a few long moments. Margaret finally broke the silence.

"What else is there?"

He lifted out two more books. "An herbalist guide and one in a language I cannot read. Then, there was this." He handed a small box across the table to his wife.

She opened it and gasped. Nestled in a velvet cushion was a necklace, fine gold with a small swan pendant made of glass. Beneath the necklace was a scroll of parchment. Unfurling it, she frowned. "I don't understand. It's blank."

The minute the words left her mouth however, the paper began to glow, and before her eyes words glittered into life: "On her eighteenth birthday." Just as soon as they appeared, they faded once again from view. Margaret dropped the paper as if it burned. "What sorcery is this?"

Doran stood and put a calming hand on his wife's shoulder. "Magic, perhaps, but a blessing as well. She is truly in our care now, Margaret, and we will do the best we can for her. Emma will be loved, and that is more than any child can wish for, whatever her destiny may be."

Margaret looked out at the young girl carefully carrying a basket of eggs back to the house. "I know. I just feel darkness here," she touched the box, "and it frightens me for what is to come."

"What is to come, at this moment, is a cake for our daughter's birthday, is it not?" He smiled and kissed her forehead. "Come, let's not dwell in what may be. We have been given our greatest wish in her. Take joy in it, and we shall prepare her as best we can for whatever might come her way."

Emma entered the kitchen once more. "I found six eggs, mama, look!" While lifting the basket up over her head in childish triumph she teetered, lost her balance, and one egg flew out, splattering the kitchen floor.

Margaret couldn't help it, she laughed. "Oh, what grace. You're a regular princess, you are. Come on then, grab a rag and we'll clean it up. You're lucky I only need five of them for the cake!"


End file.
